Thursday, August 12, 2010


*Click on the pic to enlarge

I feed my dog and 3 cats Royal Canin, Wellness and Greenies treats and other stuff. It's basically a mix of dry and wet. I have a 12 year old cat that still moves about like a kitten. And all have super soft fur. They're extremely active and keep me up at night. And during early mornings I'm like a human trampoline. It's like, "MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY WAKE UP AND FEED US NAOOOO!!!" as they knead on my head and jump on me and purr like crazy.

I'm not easily manipulated, kittens!!! I think.

What do you feed your pets?

114 comments:

  1. HAH! So true. My kitty gets whatever kibble's on sale, and an occasional treat of tuna if he hears me open the can.

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  2. My little Chef gets Royal Canin.

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  3. My kittens are eating Halo Spot's Stew these days and they seem to like it! It's a bit more affordable than some of the other 'natural wonderful' foods, but still has great ingredients.

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  4. My cat gets Royal Canin and my dog Hill's Science Plan. It most certainly drains my budget. Anyways, I absolutely love your comic, greetings from Romania :D

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  5. yeah. my pet food budget almost costs as much as my grocery bills per month. AGH!

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  6. Cats used to get Hills Science Diet, but it's hard to find anyone who carries it. They get Iams now, which our vet says is barely any better than no-name food, but they like it and it doesn't lead to digestive problems at either end. Since one of our cats seriously seems to be autistic, finding something they'll all eat is our first priority.

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  7. Haha, this totally happened to me a few weeks ago!

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  8. My 16 year old kitty eats Blue Buffalo, and she's thriving on it!

    Love the comic!

    My unsolicited 2 cents:
    The most important thing to look for when picking a cat food is that the #1 ingredient is meat, not corn or rice! Those are just fillers and can make your cat overweight and lead to a lot of problems. And watch out for "animal-by-product": that's animal parts considered unfit for human consumption...

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  9. Me toooo!!! I have a 12 year-old cat that moves about like a kitten... and she only eats Royal Canin. It's expensive, but totally worth it - my girls are very healthy and even the vet says that they don't look their age.

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  10. My 11 yr old & 2 yr old Persian cats love love LOVE Taste of the Wild's Rocky Mountain Feline Formula. The older cat had always lacked interest in dry food of any kind, more focused on wet food, but now I don't even feed her wet food at all. Its first ingredient is chicken meal & has no grain.

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  11. I feed my year-old cat a 75%/25% mix of grain-free Orijen and Science Diet for sensitive stomachs. I used to feed him 100% Orijen (had to order it online), but then his stomach was getting upset from it, so I have to mix it now.

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  12. Cats only change of address!
    I give FIT 32 and Cats Neutered of Royal Canin.
    And every day is the same ritual.
    Kisses!

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  13. Love the comic!

    I feed my kitty EVO 95 chicken&turkey. She had been having months of stomach upset until I switched to grainfree and she hasn't had a single problem since.

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  14. This is sooo true!

    My Siamese, Qish, is soo finicky. I've been trying to get him to switch to a high-grade all-meat/wet food diet to no avail. So he gets 50% Orijen & 50% Nature's Variety kibbles, with occasional canned Before Grain or Natural Balance if he wishes.

    My Domestic Shorthair, Rue, is a power-eater. She's on a diet of 50% boiled chicken (breast fillet) & 50% canned Before Grain or Natural Balance. She is as lean and as active as she can get, with beautiful round eyes and shiny coat!

    Check them out at: http://www.pawsomecats.com/

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  15. I feed Friskies Pate... since I have 12 Cats to feed price is a factor! They do well on it, no health problems...and rambunctious as all get out!

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  16. Hahaha, yes, so typical!

    You rock!

    Hug!

    Miki.

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  17. It's so awesome to see that so many of you guys pay attention to what you feed your kitties! I give my baby Blue Buffalo because it's got great ingredients and it's not too terribly expensive. It helps that I only have to feed one cat! He only goes through about one bag a month! Haha :D

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  18. We feed our army of kitties on kangaroo meat w/ a variety of different cat biscuits. :D

    PS: Love your comics <3

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  19. I feed my two cats Blue Buffalo Wilderness.
    Switching my first cat to Blue Buffalo made his fur really thick and plush. Everyone comments on his fur.
    When I adopted my second cat he was on Science Diet and had super coarse fur. I didn't notice the change seeing him every day, but my friends all started commenting that he was becoming the softest cat they had ever felt.
    This seriously changed my feelings about food. I used to think all cat food was the same.

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  20. Royal Canin is the best!

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  21. I feed my kitties "Chicken Soup for the Soul" kibble. I know it sounds silly, but I did a lot of research before choosing it. It's not the best as far as ingredients, but it's better than a lot of other foods out there. I used to feed them Science Diet as the vet recommended, but then I found out that vets get kickbacks for telling people to buy that. I started giving them Wellness brand, which was GREAT, but expensive. Chicken Soup for the Soul has turned out to be a great compromise.

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  22. I feed my cat 1/2 a can of Tiki Cat and a handful of Castor & Pollux food per meal. I caught it on sale on Amazon, so it wasn't too expensive... It has little dried bits of fruits & veggies in there! My dogs get a homemade meal of chicken, carrots, and vitamins. It's harder to find information on how to make homemade cat food, which is why Timus gets canned & dry.

    Love your comics!

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  23. My cats get Wellness brand canned food... all 3 of them! It gets super expensive, but I have one cat who can't eat dry food due to kidney issues. It is so worth it - they have all the soft, cuddly fur and energy you could hope for!

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  24. I give our two cats Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul brand kibble, and some Friskies in a can mostly as a treat. We're definitely on a budget!

    I don't really judge people based on what they feed their dogs/cats too much; my parents have fed our 15 year old cats Friskies their whole lives and they've had zero health issues.

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  25. Hey, just found your blog - its great!
    I was reading this and it reminded me of a few of your comics: http://www.catswhothrowupgrass.com/kill.php

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  26. My parents' cat ate only Iams, and then he got diabetes and eventually died. I fed my cat Iams, but he got really chubby no matter what amount I fed him. Now I've been feeding him Wellness Core (it's grain free) and he's looking much sleeker and healthier even though I'm feeding him the same amount.

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  27. i definitely know what you guys mean by budgeting. it totally adds up! though after i shifted to the vet suggested brands, i brought my cats to the vet less. lol. vet bills are the worst. i do give them friskies in those packets. or is it whiskas? but probably only a couple times a month as a treat. if i gave them wet food everyday, the litter box does not become a pretty sight. oh and i sometimes give them kibbles and bits as a treat. it's like their happy meal :)

    anonymous 9:00am - i was the same way. i used to give my cats iams. then i switched to nutro max. THEN i discovered wellness, and that's when i saw a drastic change. they started to be more active--almost kitten-ish even. and they've lost weight and their fur is AMAZING.

    i adopted a foster kitten that was being fed royal canin. but i'm weaning him off that and will be introducing wellness bit by bit and see what happens.

    i also give my dog wellness. he used to get nutro max as well. after the shift, he just became a lot leaner and crazy active. it's like an 85lb dog acting like a puppy. it's nuts.

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  28. Purina Indoor formula! It's a little more expensive than Friskies or Meow Mix, but both of my kitties are energetic, have silky fur and clear eyes, and I've never had a problem with hairballs.

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  29. My kitty gets Natural Balance wet & dry food. It's a little expensive, but not the most pricy of all the natural brands. Meat is always the first (several!) ingredients, they have a variety of grain-free choices, and seems super-conscientious about animal dietary needs. They also have very low to no ash content - that's another major thing to look out for in the "regular" brands. Ash is used as major filler along with corn & wheat - all things that are terrible for your carnivore kitteh. In general i think they go above & beyond what the USDA says is "acceptable" to feed cats.

    I started buying NB after the Iams rat-poison-in-the-petfood-made-in-China scandal about five years ago. I had been feeding my cat Iams until then. After some research I switched him to the NB: he was an older kitty, and I just adopted him, so his coat and general appearance was a little sad. After 6 months on the NB, he looked like a different cat! He lived to be 18 yrs old and was in great health until (literally) the day he died.

    I feed our current kitteh the NB, and his coat is the thickest, fluffiest, softest ever!

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  30. One other type that's kind-of food related: my kitty LOVES cat grass (aka wheat grass), and it really helps with his hairballs. They sell it at Petco for like, $5.99 a container. I recently discovered that they have in the produce section of all the grocery stores in town for only $1.99! Of course it's not marketed for cats in the grocery store, but it's the same stuff.

    I live in Norther California, so wheat grass isn't considered too unusual. :) Not sure if you could find it all over the US. But if you live on the West Coast I bet they have it at your grocery store.

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  31. oh i tried giving my cats cat grass but they won't touch it. i don't know why. i do walk them in the morning or afternoon for their grass. and my cats like to do their business on natural soil like my dog :)

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  32. I feed my 5 kitties Evo 95% Chicken/turkey, beef, duck, and veal. I mix it up so they get all different kinds of protein.

    Since cats are obligate carnivores, they really shouldn't be eating many carbs at all. Their diet should be *at least* 95% protein, which means that, truly, all dry foods should be out of the question. For more good info on cat nutrition, check here:http://www.catinfo.org/

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    Replies
    1. Good for you Danielle. Dry cat food is loaded with carbs that add excess weight and can eventually lead to diabetes, among other diseases. Plus, wet food gives cats the moisture their bodies need since cats generally do not drink a lot of water like dogs do. Just because a cat looks ok on the outside doesn't necessarily mean her/his insides are functioning correctly. Sadly, I know this from experience. Finances are tight for many, but IMO people owe their pets good health.

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  33. My tomcat will only eat whiskers, and even then only the fish ones (and yet he will also eat roadkill)...my female ball of psychotic fur is a gannet and will eat anything and everything - she once stole and swallowed half a sausage in one gulp just to spite us, and considering that she's only about the size of my my hoof-like size 4 feet, the sausage was at least half the size of her own head :3

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  34. Friskies, and only the seafood stuff. I've learned my lesson on buying anything else because it's not happening. And god forbid I miss a feeding! If I do that then they chow down like there's no tomorrow and then proceed to puke it up on whatever article of clothing or blanket they can find.

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  35. one of my cats threw up on my laptop keyboard. agh!

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  36. I feed my babies Wellness Indoor kitty food....so yeah, they eat filet mignon and lobster while I scrape by on ramen and peanut butter and jelly!

    ;)

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  37. wow, i haven't heard of most of the brands of kitty food. they were rescue kitties, one is a year and one is almost a year in november. we feed them the petsmart brand - it starts with an a, i can't think of it right now though. we only feed them wet food like once a week, if that. i get coupins and when it goes on sale it is practically free. they snarf it down. our younger kitten just threw up for the first time all over the laundry room - at least it wasn't carpet. they are short hair, so ive never seen a hairball before. they are my first pets, so i didn't really know what else to get them. i'm a food scientist though, so i did look for one with meat as the first ingredient! i'll have to look for this buffalo brand and wellness brand though. they snarf down treats like no tomorrow as well, i have to hide them or ill find the remnants that resembled a bag of treats in 12 different rooms.

    both my kitties are grey. the older one has the SOFTEST fur on her neck. she is really soft everywhere actually, but lately i've noticed that she has dandruff all over her. we do live in NC and it is summer, but i've never seen a cat with dandruff - does anyone have any remedies that don't include water or any kind of rubbing (she is totally not a lap cat - she will acknowledge your existence when it pleases her, so it is hard to even cut her nails)

    thanks for the comics - so cute <3

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  38. my comment makes me sound like a 12 year old - im just at work trying to post quickly =P

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  39. @randomosity - my dog used to have dandruff too. after switching food, i noticed a change in appearance. he wasn't as plump and his fur is soft and healthy--no flakes! the same with my cats. one of them had a tendency to itch but had no fleas and such. i changed food as well, and now their fur and skin is very healthy.

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  40. i feed my cats blue buffalo!

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  41. randomosity: you can get a lot of these high-quality foods at Petsmart. That's where we get Blue Buffalo. You might also try a decent-sized "natural foods" grocery store or a feed store.

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  42. and ps: yay for rescues!!

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  43. God your blog is brilliant!
    I'm a mad cat lady and do a spot of colouring in too!

    Sam xx UK Bath

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  44. I feed my two adult cats (as well as the five kittens I'm currently fostering) Halo or Natural Balance dry food and Wellness canned food. My Ragdoll LOVES Vita-Kitty chicken breast treats and all of my kitties go crazy for cat-nip!

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  45. my kitteh Tigger gets Purina either SmartBlend or Natural Blends (first ingredient on both is meat!) He used to eat one of the fancier kibbles, but it constantly made his stomach upset and he stopped eating--he's awfully finicky. He also gets Greenies treats (which are awesome) and random spoonfuls of wet food.

    Yasmine: I live in terror of when Tigger realizes that throwing up on the keyboard is a good way to get rid of his computerized rival for lap space.

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  46. Cheers! I love your blog. :-)

    My cats are both eating Science Diet prescription diet to lost weight. I'm happy to report it works! They are just about 7 and 8 and you wouldn't know it looking at them. Still very active and shiny coats. Tex was the most overweight and he has slimmed right down. Went from roughly 15 pounds to about 12-13. The food is costly but worth every penny. Harry, too, has slimmed down. Runs around like crazy now!

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  47. My kitties Snacks and Algebra have slight problems with gingevitis, so I feed them a mix of GENERIC PET FOOD BRAND and Hill's Science Diet Oral Care. They LOVE the huge nuggets in the Science Diet and it's made a world of difference in their health. The downside is that Science Diet is $14 for a very small bag in MA. That was my litter/food budget for two weeks!
    It's definitely worth it to keep them healthy, though.

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  48. I just recently adopted my kitty. She's not keen on eating anything other than Iams right now and she's so skinny... so I'm starting her on that but I will eventually transition to slowly mixing in Science Diet and getting her to eat that. I want to prevent as many health problems as I can and my vet said that proper food is the easiest way to do that. My old cat would only eat Deli Cat.

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  49. We used to feed our little panther the semi-cheap stuff. You know - crap that advertises itself as being good for your pet, but it still has tons of bad ingredients in it, is on the cheap end and can be easily found at any grocery store.

    Then we realized what hypocrites we were being - our whole motto in life is that the one thing we never feel guilty about spending extra money on is GOOD food. So then came the guilt trip, and then the apologies, and then the bags of Natural Ultramix. He didn't even turn his nose up at it, surprisingly.

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  50. My 8 year old cat, Shoogi, and my brother's 8-week old kitten, Amatyst, both eat Nutro Max Indoor Formula. The kitten is thriving on it and is probably up to about 5 lbs now, all without the absolutely toxic poo that comes with kitten chow. And my 8 year old still has the energy required to beat the tar out of her (she was never a particularly active cat, even when a kitten) plus the healthiest coat I have ever seen on a cat. She positively sparkles.

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  51. Tiki Cat rocks, when my old girl (17) was going it was the only thing I could get her to eat. I get it for our resident feline overlord as a treat, the rest of the time it's Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea but she is starting to refuse it.

    Will be looking into the Blue Buffalo, I am fortunate to have two very well stocked mom & pop pet stores in my area.

    I love, love, love your work and have pimped your strip out to my friends.

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  52. thanks for sharing your feeding stories guys! up next--the litter box stories! agh!

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  53. My Lily (11 yrs old now and just your ordinary mixed breed house cat) used to eat only Royal Canin (been on it since she started eating solid food) but unfortunately I could no longer afford it after their latest price increase a few months ago so I've had to go to Nutrience Indoor Light instead. Its about 2/3 the price of RC but I haven't noticed much of a change in her energy level or the softness of her fur. She's as cuddly and happy-purry as always. So I assume there isn't too much of a drop in quality to her diet. She didn't even notice the change in noms (she's a gluttonous walking stomach XD)...though I still haven't managed to make her lose any weight T_T

    My flame-point siamese, Mr. Flea (4 yrs old), was a little more picky about the nom change. He's more finicky than Lily so it took him a few days before he decided to give it a taste. He's fine with it now and as bouncy crazy as ever. He's just used to his routine and very averse to any type of change (neurotic kitty). Even though he's on the diet food too, his weight is good. He's sleek and lean and not underfed in the least. He's more of a snacker and eats when he's hungry. No more, no less.

    Every now and then, I'll give them half a can of organic wet food as a treat or some fancy feast. Its their version of a happy meal :p I figure its the equivalent of junk food for us but if its only an occasional thing, no harm done.

    Just like good foods and nutrition is important for us, I find that the same applies to feline (or canine) family members. Keeps them healthier and happier and gives them more years of life than a steady diet of junk would. Case in point, Lily hardly ever goes to the vet for any ailments whatsoever. Last visit a couple years ago was for a split claw from getting it caught where it shouldn't have been.

    Nyx

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  54. rachal i have no cats sorry lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  55. For the longest time we fed ours Friskies. They loved it but I didn't love the dye in it staining my carpet a bright shade of orangy red when they decided to puke after eating it too fast!

    My mom feeds hers Origen (I think thats how you spell it) but its "rich people cat food" as I call it. Its nothing but meat and veggies, no grain cause apparently cats don't need grain. They gave me some odd explanation, but all I know is she gave some to my picky cats and both went nuts. It was like catnip flavored food to them! Long story short, I now make a trek to the special rich kitty toy store to get them rich kitty food. My dog gets it too and she loves it.

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  56. Generic Friskies dry catfood 'cereal' and 1/4th a can of 40 cent 'wet' food every night, of random various flavor, so they never develop a favorite.

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  57. Our seven beasties get all the uber high end foods, both dry and moist: Evo, Wellness Core, Natural Balance, Serengeti, Weruvya, Orijen, Nature's Variety Instinct, Taste of the Wild,Now! GrainFree, Halo, etc. We give them a huge variety of brands/flavors so that if one is picky about food, they'll surely find something they like. Plus they don't get overly used to any one food and get fixated on it.

    Our eldest kitty (almost 19) passed away in December from kidney failure, but prior to that she was a pretty healthy old gal. We'd lost her sister to intestinal cancer about 5 years ago (which was the catalyst for us switching to all corn-free foods...she started out with IBD from corn in dry foods). The current gang (12, 9, 8,8 and three almost 6 month old kittens) love the high end stuff.

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  58. I was on the subway yesterday, all alone, and the crazy googly-eyed faces of the saleswoman suddenly popped into my head and I laughed out loud. OUT. LOUD.

    :D

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  59. i serve wellness and acana! they eat better than i do.

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  60. ahaha!! i hate this when it happens X3 i'm like... what should i do with this cat food now?? i end up giving the expensive cat food to stray cats and then i find my cat rummaging the rubbish bin for food. huhu...

    thank you for all your comics. they really brighten up my day!

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  61. my 12yo lady cat loves Eagle Pack "Duck flavor" but the petshop stopped providing her fave, so I switched to Friskies for Kitten.
    Eagle Pack is absolutely great, my lady cat is always healthy and her fur is shiny. Friskies is also good but she isn't as fat as she was with Eagle Pack.

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  62. I've been feeding my 12 year old cat Friskies Dental diet since she was 1, after her vet (Dr Winkle.. love that name) mentioned it. She seen some new vets since we moved a few years ago and they are always amazed at how great her teeth look for a cat her age.

    She also get's 9 Lives or Friskies canned food for dinner, but only 1/4-1/3 a can, depending on the time of year and her activity level (she hates hot weather just like mommy) and I do feed her teeny bits of people food, but only a taste of two. Happily, she is a very non-nudgey cat because of this.

    12 years old and still as spry as a kitten, so I think I'm doing a good job.

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  63. My 14 yr old gets Friskies. He likes it and he has only 3 teeth left.
    My chubby 5 yr old gets Purina one. Not the greatest, but she'll eat it.
    I don't have to describe the look she made when I gave her the generic store brand one money-thin week. I still have nightmares. :>

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  64. My River, 18 months old, get's whatever happens to be on sale when we're almost out. So sometimes she gets purina, but usually western family. She did not care for the expensive kitten food i bought when i got her that they said they'd been feeding her.

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  65. I recently changed the dry cat food to Wellness Core. One of my 3 cats started throwing up almost daily. He used to throw up occasionally but never like this. I introduced the food slowly over a week and it seems he likes it. My other 2 cats are adjusting nicely. One used to throw up a lot has not thrown up since. What should I do? Help!

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  66. I feed my two birmans and my two dogs only raw meat and bones. They love it, and they are very healthy. And it costs me less than ""good"" dry food.

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  67. Hee! This is so true. I bought my cats Ellen DeGeneres' food - Halo - and they hated it! My cat Gracie would literally scoop it out of the bowl, leave it on the floor, and eat the other food mixed in. Picky, picky. It hurt me, because I love Ellen and want to support her food. Oh well.

    My two girls eat a combination of Performatrin Hairball Formula (for the hairball-prone one), Hill's Science Diet dental food, and Evo. That's just dry kibble. They also get "supplementary wet food" in the form of Performatrin Ultra Chicken Stew.

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  68. I recently adopted a three-year-old cat from a shelter. He was about 2 pounds overweight when I got him. I feed him a mix of Purina Indoor Formula and Weight Control Formula. He doesn't care for the Weight Control so much, so I mix in a little but of fancy feast.

    I also give him wet food at least once a week because he is a male cat. My vet told me male cats are particularly prone to UTIs, so they need wet food on a regular basis to ensure they have enough water in their systems to not get blocked up. I use whatever wet food is on sale between Purina, Whiskas, and Fancy Feast brands.

    And yes, PetSmart is the best place to shop, especially if you use their rewards card.

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  69. I bought 4kg turkey hearts from a local organic breeder. Great as a treat!

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  70. My kitty is eating Advance, it's more expensive than her usual Whiskas but I have noticed a massive change in her energy, fur and health. She is an indoor kitty who goes for walkies on her harness, when she was on Whiskas she wasn't really interested in going out and expending energy. Now she is super playful!
    She also used to have a small nibble at her food when I would feed her, then just graze on it throughout the day. Now when I give her Advance, she gobbles it all up! She loves it! :)

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  71. Our pets get mostly deer meat (No we're not crazy hillbillies, it's mixed with other stuff so that it is actual balanced food and we keep it in the freezer through the year). We make it out of the 'scraps' that are safe and good for you but too chewy for us humans. It isn't much effort and we save money with way less waste!

    If folks are having trouble with their pet food bills, I recommend calling up your local hunting groups and asking around for people that might give you some meat for free!

    Plus, our pets are super healthy.

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  72. My 10-year old DSH eats Nutro MaxCat for seniors - the dry stuff. She lovesss it and there's none of that filler crap. The $11-13 bag lasts me about 2 months (1/2cup per day). I only feed her wet food (FancyFeast) when giving her meds.

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  73. love your blogspot!! my two 6month olds get Before Grain dry and wet. Vary with the wet food between BG, Wellness and Merrick. I completely understand this strip <3. Before really looking into better low-grain content foods, I was buying Iams and Science Diet 'because of the popular branding of it all. They hated it. Didn't even want to try it. Kind of arrogant even... hehe... brats <3

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  74. Wellness Core for the cat and the dog. LOVE it!

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  75. i'm actually taking note of your pet food suggestions...thanks!

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  76. I've studied pet nutrition for over ten years. Recently, one of the best foods I've found (real meat #1 ingredient, no sourcing from China, made in one plant in the US) is NutriSource.

    Been scared away from Nutro and Royal Canin due to the change of ownership, usage of lesser-quality ingredients.

    Would never, ever feed anything from Purina, Iams, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Meow Mix, or Wal-Mart brands. By-products, corn, dangerous chemicals and unneeded artificial colors.

    (Only feed canned food for a treat, if you look, you're buying water- most canned food is at least 80% water.)

    Do your pet a favor - research their food. If you buy a good quality food, they eat less, are healthier, and their poo doesn't smell hardly at all.

    Good luck on finding something great your felines will love!

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  77. Brands to consider:
    Halo
    Natural Balance
    Orijen
    Fromm
    Castor & Pollux
    Innova
    Merrick Before Grain

    basically look for no corn, real meat as the first ingredient

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  78. I feed my 4 kitties Wellness with organic raw meat mixed in...no dry food ever!

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  79. My kitty is 21, still runs around like a kitten. (He loves to do laps on the hardwood floors at 4am). He has eaten Purina his entire life. From Kitten, to adult cat, and now he's on the senior formula. We've TRIED to switch his food, but he'll go on a hunger strike, and or sit and stare menacingly at us until we give him Purina kibble. He also won't eat wet food. He doesn't like it at all. He gets tuna and sometimes raw ground beef on holidays. The vet is always amazed at how fabulous he looks. I love my kitty!

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  80. We have 24 cats (www.weepaws.org) and they all eat raw food. None of them are overweight, they poop less, it stinks less (WAY less), and it's much better for their kidneys. If you're too intimidated or busy to make it yourself, you can get kits from www.wildkittycatfood.com that have all of the vitamins and minerals that you need. Their site also explains why raw is a good idea and they've actually done raw food feeding trials. I can go on and on about raw and how it's helped a wide variety of problems in our rescues, but I'll only rave about it more if you ask. ;)

    I just found your blog today (thanks, HuffPo!) and LOVE it!!! Your cat lady/crazy cat lady IS my partner, right down to the "cake!" part. Too too funny. I'm now going through every single one of your entries, starting at the beginning. I'm sending all of my FB friends here, plus I need to blog about your comics, too. Anyone who owns even one cat will see themselves and their cats in your comics...and those of us with more than one, you've clearly been hiding in our closets. ;)

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  81. I find that even if you like one particular brand, sometimes their individual lines can be not so good (example, Wellness CORE wet and dry food is fantatic, but their Kitten Health food has some bad ingerdients in it). So, the most important thing is to just look at the ingredients.

    Ingredients to Avoid
    BHA - butylated hydroxyanisole
    BHT - butylated hydroxytoluene
    ethoxyquin
    propylen glycol
    propyl gallate

    by-product meal
    meat and bone meal
    beef and bone meal
    corn, corn gluten, maize
    wheat
    soy
    flour
    rice

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  82. Alpo...my dog eats the off brand of the off brand. He would eat kibbles n' bits but he can regulate how much he eats with Alpo where as a 20 lb bag of kibbles n' bits will be gone overnight

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  83. My cat gets fresh raw meat. usually sirloin i grind for him and me. Sometimes i cook the meat i eat though.;-)

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  84. I feed Nutro Natural Choice. I've been feeding Nutro for years and the quality is very good. My pets have always done well with shiny, soft fur, good health and lots of energy.

    I think the main thing that people need to look out for is any food that has "by products" in the ingredients. I kid you not, that stuff is made of heads, intestines, feet and feathers. Not only is it disgusting, but it's not very digestible. I'm not sure why Megan above said that rice is bad. When you go to the vet because your pet is having tummy troubles they suggest ground beef and rice as an easy to digest diet. Also corn gluten is the inside of the kernel not the whole thing. It's the part in the middle with the protein in it. Instead, you want to watch out for "whole ground yellow corn".

    Bottom line you can feed your pets something like "Ol' Roy" from Wal-Mart and they'll "survive"... but it's pretty much just junk. It's like the difference between you eating wonderful home cooked meals and that fakey, made out of cardboard stuff that corrupt Chinese company was feeding people and telling them it was "meat".

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  85. My cat gets Grau canned cat food. Decided to let this be her main food after weeks of research, because there's a lot of real meat in there and no by-products like claws or beaks :)
    Unfortunately RC seems to support animal testing (just like EUkanuba, Iams, WHiskas, Felix, Sheba, ...and a lot more). :/

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  86. I feed my three cats raw. I use a brand called Primal because I am too lazy to make my own. It is 95% meat, bones, and organs with 5% organic produce. All of the meat is grass fed or free range. They also have 6 different formulas for cats so they can have a good variety.

    I have switched to raw about a year ago and I will never go back to over processed kibble. It has made a huge difference in their health. They have super soft coats, almost never get hairballs, their poop does not smell at all (and I have held it up to my nose.)

    The price is defiantly worth the benefits.

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  87. Yikes! Sudden switches in pet food are not good! Please research why it's good to wean them off kibble, aka kitty crack. Cats have a low thirst drive & will never drink enough water to be properly hydrated. This often leads to urinary problems (see Opie's story on http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth). The carbohydrates are not good & lead to problems like obesity and diabetes. A basic grain-free canned food is better than even expensive kibble. If you go to a nutritionist, they would never tell you to eat cereal for every meal, even if it says it's 100% nutritionally complete (a meaningless term when applied to pet food, BTW); the same applies to our pets. Never get all your information from the pet food companies. Many vets don't have much education about nutrition either say vets like Dr. Hodgkins (see "Your Cat" by Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins), Dr. Lisa Pierson (www.catinfo.org), Dr. Jean Hofve (www.LittleBigCat.com), & Dr. Michael Fox (http://www.twobitdog.com/drfox/about.aspx).

    Feline Outreach is a registered charity that wants to help keep cats in homes. They offer information that can help prevent & solve problems that lead some cat owners to abandon or relinquish their pets. Preventing problems helps save money on vet bills too (http://www.felineoutreach.org/AboutUs.html).

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    Replies
    1. Yay for you and your great, informative and accurate post!

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  88. Love the commics! :)

    I currently have two cats, one inside/out-when-he-feels-like-it and one strictly outside. I have a very small budget for cat food and so I feed both of them either Whiskas Adult or Purina for all cats. I feed them one kind till the bags empty and then start on the next bag of either without weening them onto it. They just eat it.

    I looked at the ingredients on the Whiskas bag tonight and found out that it has a lot of the stuff I have read in this blog is bad for them...
    Chicken by-product meal, ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA/BHT), wheat, rice, wheat flour, salt...

    Purina is basically the same minus the BHA/BHT. They use Mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin e)

    I have seen my indoor car puke once since I got him. A co-worker who decided Waylon was no longer welcome at their place. He showed up as a scrawny not soft at all cat and has since become healthy looking with really soft fur.

    My outside cat is a long hair and has gone from a really non friendly cat with a mess of fur to a really soft cat who I can now pick up and cuddle with as long as he doesnt get spooked.

    From reading others comments I should upgrade my cats food to a better more expensive brand of food to prevent health issues. Only trouble is all the cats I have had since I was young have grown up on the asame food and have all been great. Think I will stick with what I am feeding. He likes it and seems happy. Inside kitty gets a full bowl of food to eat as he pleases and isnt fat. Besides... I eat ramen noodles and various no-name products soi I think he will survive too.

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  89. I feed my boy cats Natures' Variety. It's a raw meat diet and they love it. It's more expensive than processed stuff but I think it's worth it.

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  90. Royal Canin gave my cat Pickles really bad gas and diarrhea! Same with Blue Buffalo Spa Select. And Iams. I forget what else I tried. Anyways, it took a long time, but I finally found a cat food that was lamb-based. I highly recommend Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Formula For Adult Cats! My cat no longer has stomach problems! Woo-hoo!

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  91. My cat got fat on Iams (my vet said it was to blame although there were extenuating circumstances) and is now on Blue Bayou weight control (likes it) and Science Diet Light... I still use individual pieces of Iams as treats for her.

    Though I just noticed Science Diet light's first 4 ingredients are: rice (ok), chicken by-product (not ok), corn gluten meal (not the best), and powdered cellulose (sawdust!!! not ok!)

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    1. yay Kate for reading your ingredients! And btw Corn Gluten meal was what got all those cats sick and why so many pets died a few years back it was the CGM from China that was poisoned, and if that wasn't bad enough corn gluten meal is literally JUST added as a source of high protein, so instead of getting the protein from meat, they are getting it from corn.

      And sadly you were probably paying more for that science diet then the blue bayou... Sorry I have rage issues with companies that promote themselves as so wonderful, charge so much and put low quality ingredients in their products.

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  92. Oh and I tried Purina ONE (their attempt at a more upscale,whole-food product) but she did not like it.

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  93. We feed our two cats Costco's Kirkland brand cat food in the large green bag. Great price!

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  94. Well... I fed them with Purina for long but one my cats needs special food so, now I have to buy 20$ Science Diet K/D cats food bags for 3 cats... they kill that bag in 15 days!

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  95. We feed our cats a special urinary tract formula. Poor Steve has problems so has to eat this type of food, and Gizmo has to eat it because of Steve. But once a week we give them a can of wet food which they go crazy for.

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  96. In Missylandia (http://missycat.blogol.hu) we are eating Hill's and Royal Canin kibbles. The servants believe that high quality food will keep the vet away. Thumbs up for that.

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    1. you should check your ingredients before claiming something is high quality just because of a high price tag. Compare the ingredients to one of the holistics, which is either going to be the same price or less in most cases and you'll be shocked to see what's really in the "high quality" food you're feeding your cats.

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  97. Once, my family and I went on vacations and Mateo, our cat, stayed with the vet. He told us that for 5 days he didn't eat because he was sad until he fed him with the most expensive cat food he had...When the vet told us that, we all, even my serious dad said something like AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNN <3

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  98. I feed my 4 feline friends IAMS. They love it and their fur is also super soft :-)

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  99. I feed my kitties Meow Mix. My 3 year old Apple will puke if I give her anything else, and since our kitten Blooper likes to eat her vomit we can't have that. We mix kitty formula and hairball formula 50/50.

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  100. Don't feed Hills Science Diet, Iams, or Purina. Stick with Royal Canin, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, or Innova. It matters, I promise!

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  101. I once bought a cat new, more expensive kibble. I bought the 16 pound bag, so I could get those "bulk savings." The first time I gave it to her, she took a shit in the bowl. I got the hint, and went back to the old brand.

    Luckily my neighbor's cats thought it was tastier than cat litter, so it didn't go to waste.

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  102. I'm not a fan of Royal Canin, for the price vs quality of ingredients, you're WAYYYYY better off feeding Blue Buffalo, or one of the other holistics, trust me, just compare your ingredients and the cost per ounce/pound. Avoid foods with biproducts, corn, wheat & soy. And any time you ever change a pet's food you have to do it gradually. Friskys whiskas etc. are mostly corn and very high in sugar, which is bad for kitties, and that's why diabetes is the number one killer of kitties. Just so you know. Even if they are finiky they will eventually learn to love the quality foods with real meat/fish in them. first 5 ingredients are most important, and just like people food ingredients are listed by weight. Do your research, don't just listen to any random person who tells you something. And for your pet's sake, read the freakin ingredients if that's the only research you do!

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  103. For every animal is different, Royal Canin provides adapted nutritional answers for your animal. Royal Canin focus totally on the animal, with the aim of improving daily life and ensuring better health for dogs and cats through nutrition.
    Royal Canin Pet Food

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  104. I'm on SSDI, and some help from family. I may actually have reached independently lower middle class, but I don't know yet. My cats were the only ones not living on the grocery store brand, then I noticed the food I was buying at PetSmart was trying to 'cross-sell" me, including coupons for something else, in the bag. When I switched to Kroger's Indoor Formula, I found it looked exactly the same, and my cats were happy with it. Peter, whom I didn't get until he was 3, from the Richmond SPCA, lived to age 15. Winston, who hopped into a friend's car, Thanksgiving morning, 1995, when he was just old enough to make the jump, was over 18, when he passed away, peacefully.

    I supplemented both their diets with canned food, for their last several years, on advice from friends and the cats' vet.

    Ghost loves to chase a laser pointer, but her son, Tattooine (named by Star Wars fans) just looks at it. Only Winston ever had a weight problem, and only until I stopped just filling up a gravity feeder for him.

    Tatoo used to throw up his food, fairly often, until I followed an online tip to switch from a big bowl to a shallow pan, so he's no longer shoving his face into a deep dish. I hope that works for others.

    I imagine some of you think I'm doing wrong by my cats, but I'm doing all I can afford. I do without cable and other things, I buy the cheapest human food and drink I can, and it's still a struggle to handle the cats' vaccinations.

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